As one of three automakers supporting drivers in Red Bull Global Ralllycross, Volkswagen brought a special display of racing and off-road vehicles to the Detroit doubleheader July 25-26, 2015. Scott Speed and Tanner Foust both compete in VW Beetles with Andretti Autosport. While the record-setting Jetta Hybrid LSR and Jetta TDI Cup Car were both pretty cool, they didn’t catch the eye quite like the Desert Dingo Class 11 Beetle.

This isn’t the actual 1107 – according to the Desert Dingo blog, it’s currently being prepped for Vegas 2 Reno – but it’s 1115 wrapped with the same graphics and dubbed 1107B. No matter – the air-cooled 1.6L four-cylinder 1969 Beetle is beyond cool. With some changes to the engine and transmission, 1107b is equipped with desert racing tires and Bilstein suspension to handle tough off-road desert races such as the Mint 400 and Baja 1000.

If you’re going to GRC in Washington DC August 15, be sure to check it out as it will be there as well. In the meantime, here’s a full gallery.

Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Robby Gordon is a competitor’s competitor. A guy who can get behind the wheel of just about anything and make it perform. You might say that Gordon is a badass that was made more in the style of Sixties era racers like Foyt, Gurney and Andretti.

Ok, enough man love for Gordon. These days, the guy is most likely to be seen at the wheel of some sort of racing truck, preferably in the dirt. The racer’s bid to win the 2014 Mint 400 ended just a few miles in, when his truck’s transmission broke. Looking at the insane pounding the truck takes on the desert trails near Vegas, it is little wonder than mechanical failures are a regular part of desert racing.